Disney's ANIMAL KINGDOM LODGE Information & Questions

[Best Aunt]

ETA: I did some research and it appears that the tour is now open to ALL people staying at AKL!

Does anyone know if the Wanyama Safari & dinner is only available to guests staying concierge level? Some friends have booked a standard, savanna view room, but I know they'd love to do this tour. Just wondered if they were eligible or not. Thanks!

Anyone staying at Animal Kingdom Lodge & Villas can do the Wanyama Safari.

It was the Sunrise Safari which was only open to guests staying Concierge Level, and that safari is no longer offered.

 

[marinejjh]

Does anyone know if the transportation boards are up yet? Also is there more than one bus stop and where are they located, we would like to put in a room request that is close to the bus stops.

 

[loveshak22]

Hi - does anyone know why for late May/early June 2016 all of the Arusha view rooms at AKL or showing unavailable? I tried 4 different weeks and none of those rooms were available? Any thoughts?

 

[Best Aunt]

Does anyone know if the transportation boards are up yet? Also is there more than one bus stop and where are they located, we would like to put in a room request that is close to the bus stops.

There is one bus stop in front of Jambo House and one bus stop in front of Kidani Village. Buses stop at Kidani first. Except the Downtown Disney bus, which stops at Jambo House first.

If you're talking about signs which indicate when the next bus might show up, they did not have one in Jambo House in March. I didn't pay attention at Kidani because we didn't take a bus from there.

 

[RachelTori]

The transportation boards weren't yet up at Jambo when we stayed there 3 weeks ago (late August).

I can't speak for Kidani either, Best Aunt! I never paid attention when the bus stopped there!

 

[marinejjh]

There is one bus stop in front of Jambo House and one bus stop in front of Kidani Village. Buses stop at Kidani first. Except the Downtown Disney bus, which stops at Jambo House first.

If you're talking about signs which indicate when the next bus might show up, they did not have one in Jambo House in March. I didn't pay attention at Kidani because we didn't take a bus from there.

Is the Jambo House for the AKL?

 

[RachelTori]

Is the Jambo House for the AKL?

Jambo House is the AKL resort - it includes the resort rooms and DVC villas. Kidani is the DVC villas resort (no regular resort rooms there). It's an easy walk between the two!

Hope that answers your question!

 

[marinejjh]

Thanks it is our first stay at this resort.

 

[RachelTori]

Thanks it is our first stay at this resort.

If you're like the majority of us, it definitely won't be your last!!! Prepare to fall in love!

 

[marinejjh]

Thanks

 

[TK27]

Just booked for next August 16-24 in a DVC Savannah view! Can't wait to be back in WDW and experience AKL for the first time!

 

[punkin413]

Okay, just have to come by here and share my excitement before I go back to the real world and work for 4 days....

SIX DAYS UNTIL OUR FIRST STAY AT AKL!!!!!

I'm slightly excited.

 

[tarak]

Does anyone know if the transportation boards are up yet? Also is there more than one bus stop and where are they located, we would like to put in a room request that is close to the bus stops.

They had a board up at Kidani when we stayed there in January, 2014. I assume it's still there. Close to transportation should work if you're wanting to be close to the bus stop. But if you want to be more specific, you can request to be near the elevator that is closest to the bus stop. I can't remember if it's really the elevator that's named, or the parking area, or both, but Zazu is the elevator closest to Jambo House. Timon is by the bus stop. Rafiki is closest to the pool, and Pumba furthest from everything. We were about halfway between Timon and Zazu our last trip and it was perfect. We liked having the shorter walk to Jambo house and we were pretty close to the buses. One trip we were on the Pembe Savannah and it was less than great. I swear, at the end of the day, that walk from the lobby to our room seemed to take forever.

 

[gottalovepluto]

Epcot opens at 9am on Mon Nov 9. I'm hoping to be at rope drop or pretty close to opening. I see the estimated bus to epcot is 20 mins long according to the transportation calculator I found, when should I plan on arriving at the bus stop? (staying at AKL)

 

[sls404]

Just wanted to give my feedback on my first AKL stay this past Labor Day weekend:

We got Sunset savanna view room #4130 on the Giraffe trail (our room request was 'close to lobby'). Received the text our room was ready before we boarded our flight that morning. When we first arrived, there were absolutely no animals in sight... so I sort of panicked and went down to the lobby to see if there was anything else available. They had one Arusha room, but it was pretty far off from the lobby, so I declined. The girl working the desk assured me she sees giraffes all the time on Sunset savanna, but if we were still unhappy we could try for a different room the next day.

Well, I'm so glad we decided to stay with our room because as I was walking back I get a text from my sister telling me 'WE HAVE GIRAFFES!' When I got in the room we had 3 giraffes eating outside. It was so hard leaving our room to go to the parks because we constantly had animals outside: giraffes, zebras, ostriches, and more! The coolest part was the giraffes slept under our window every night. We would go out on the balcony around midnight and they were right underneath us, scratching themselves on the fence, laying down, or trying to eat some palm trees.

We also tried Jiko for the first time. We tried the chicken flatbread and I got the filet with mac and cheese for my entre. It was good, but from the rave reviews I was expecting more. It's probably a one and done restaurant for us. We prefer Boma, but I'm glad we tried something new.

The only downside was the bus service, which is what I was nervous about. The DTD bus took forever (but that's to be expected at every resort). Unbelievably the worst wait was the bus from AK. Buses from every resort came and went multiple times as our line started growing. AKL is 5 minutes away... and we waited probably 30 mins for a bus. They finally got us 2 busses and made us fill the first bus instead of letting us on the 2nd bus and having a seat. The people in the back of the line that waited for 5 mins got the 2nd bus and a seat.

Overall, I loved AKL. It's a great value compared to the other Deluxe resorts but Beach Club is still #1 in my heart.

 

[novamickey]

Just got back today and had a great Time, there are boards at Kidani Village for the buses but none at Jambo House. We were there for a week and did not have any problems with the buses they were frequent and not overly crowded.

 

[jessmill10]

We leave next Wednesday for a 2 bedroom villa at Kidani! SO EXCITED. Standard view though and hoping for an upgrade!

 

[TeeterTots]

We leave next Wednesday for a 2 bedroom villa at Kidani! SO EXCITED. Standard view though and hoping for an upgrade!

Very exciting! Sending pixie dust your way!

 

[hollybearsmom]

Thinking about staying here next summer. Do the dvc studios have a good animal view or should we go for a regular savannah room?

 

[TeeterTots]

The best savannah views are cash rooms from what I understand